Posts Tagged ‘George Haralampopoulos’

Find Out How Your Response To Rejection Can Affect Your Business Success

If you are an entrepreneur, a business owner, an independent professional, you have faced it. We all have. I’m referring to the often dreaded “R” word:  Rejection – business rejection.

It comes in different forms, doesn’t it? From the high quality lead that you’ve been working with for a while, you know, the one you’re “sure” will hire you for your services, but decides differently;  to the prospect that says “no” to meeting with you even for a quick conversation. How about the one that has made a “commitment” to follow up with you, but doesn’t “for whatever reason,” or the one that simply will not respond to your messages and communications?

Does any of this sound familiar?

During my 17-year professional career in this great country, as an entrepreneur, business owner, mentor, strategist, I have generally seen three types of business professionals when it comes to handling, reacting, responding to rejection:

The first group: The Give-ups 

These are talented individuals, smart, and  often brilliant minds. They are working in markets were there is still demand for their services, but they just give up.  Promising careers have been ended, in large part because the individuals could not handle the “R” word. Or, at least manage it.

The second group: The Rising Stars

Business people in this group have experienced the rejections, frustrations, fears, even heartbreaks of the first group, and almost gave up. But somehow along the way they experience that BREAKTHROUGH moment -that inspiration! They discover that “inner strength” that propels them to Superstar status.

The third group­­: The Superstars

These business professionals are the ones – who no matter what – keep on pushing. All though they may be working in highly competitive markets, they simply claim their share of the business. They pursue their aspirations with vigor in some cases achieving phenomenal results.

For this group, rejections, recessions, downturns, really don’t matter. At least they don’t matter a lot. And if they do get temporarily derailed – “thrown off course” – due to unforeseen circumstances, somehow they jump back on the path to success. They understand, or have made the commitment to learn, how to channel rejections, roadblocks and challenges into opportunities for development, growth, and expansion.

“Give ups” have the potential to become “Rising Stars” and “Superstars”

What does it take to achieve these transformations?

Is it skill development, business acumen, and better support systems? This is part of it. 

Speaking from experience, the most important factor is developing the right mindset. It is learning –all though this may be difficult to reconcile - not to take rejection personally. It is having clarity about the vision of the business that they desire to create, an unshakeable sense of purpose, and a deep desire to pursue their goals, dreams and aspirations despite the number of rejections they may face along the way.   And of course, it takes a very strong commitment to take intentional ACTION no matter what.

In following blogs, I will be sharing some specific ideas and steps on how to develop your mindset in overcoming rejection, and even turning it into opportunity.

Your comments are welcomed.

One of the lessons I’ve learned travelling the path of entrepreneurship is how quickly time goes by. Sometimes, it flies. Have you ever felt this way?

You blink, and the week is gone. Before you know it the month, the quarter, the year have also come and gone.

Can we use this realization to our advantage when it comes to achieving our objectives? Although we can’t stop time, we can use it as an asset in attaining our goals and pursuing our visions, dreams, and aspirations. Here is how:

Besides being very clear and specific, about WHAT goals we want to attain, we also need to be very clear and specific by WHEN we want to attain them.

When you establish a time frame, you are constantly reminded that you have a deadline. You have a sense of urgency. This will challenge you to stay focused and take all the necessary actions to reach your goals in the predetermined time frame.

It is essential that your desired goals go hand-in-hand with specific timeframes and deadlines in which you want to achieve them. Even if you fall short, you will most likely be a step closer in making them happen than you would have been otherwise.

When it comes achieving your goals, use time as your asset.

Be clear and specific: About WHAT you want to achieve, and by WHEN. 

All the Best!

When it comes to growing your business, your current, past clients, and referral sources are by far your best source for creating multiple business opportunities and achieving breakthroughs. One of my clients, a small business owner, used this simple approach and DOUBLED his business in just 30-days!

This is your Most Valuable Market (MVM),  for a simple reason. You have already conducted business with people in this market, and most likely you have established the three essential connections:

            A Personal Relationship, Trust, and Credibility.

Creating multiple earning opportunities for your business will be less expensive; it will require less effort, and a smaller investment in time and energy than paying for advertising and searching for new target markets. Searching for new markets to broaden your client base, however, should also be a part of your ongoing business development strategy.

How to best cultivate your MVM is a focal point of my Unconditionally Successful Business Growth Program.  Creating multiple earning opportunities for ourselves and our businesses takes planning,  consistency, and empathy.

Establishing trust, credibility and a personal relationship is fundamental. Staying connected, learning more about our clients, their families their special interests, providing “added value”, asking for introductions and recommmendations, should be part of our daily business habits.

Moments after one of my recent presentations, a woman came up to me, warmly embraced me, and said, “Thank you! I really needed to hear that today.”

I felt a great sense of satisfaction.

A Zen proverb says that “When the pupil is ready to learn, a teacher will appear.”

It’s so true.

The “lesson” may come in different forms; that’s why it’s important we always keep our minds and hearts open.

I recall one of my “lessons” coming to me in the form of a quote I came across during a challenging period early in my career:

The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief. Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big and win big success. Remember this, too! Big ideas and big plans are often easier—certainly no more difficult—than small ideas and small plans.”

                                                             —From the book The Magic of Thinking Big, by Author Dave Schwartz

It’s one of the most powerful quotes I have ever read. Brilliant! Eye-opening and definitely thought-provoking.

The secret to unlocking our true potential, living our purpose and serving the world the way that we were meant to may be summed up in these three words:

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

Next time you feel challenged, remember to keep your mind and your heart open.

“When the pupil is ready to learn, a teacher will appear.”